


Black Tower Days

by Shikorra



Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 21:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15615303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shikorra/pseuds/Shikorra
Summary: The founding and evolution of the Black Tower from Taim's perspective. Will be ongoing.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not subscribe to the idea that Taim was a darkfriend all along and I am not writing him as one until I reach the point where (I think) he turned. I intend this to remain fairly canon-compliant, but I may spin off AU snippets as they occur to me.
> 
> The first few of these were originally posted on tumblr.

Taim stood silent as the Lord Dragon stepped through his gateway with his Aiel and it snapped shut behind him. He had imagined so many scenarios for that first meeting with al’Thor and none had come anywhere near reality. But... he was free. Free from Aes Sedai, free from Bashere’s pursuit. It was an improvement, he supposed. Walking slowly back to the wary group of men and boys who had yet to be tested, Taim pushed away his frustration and surveyed them thoughtfully until his gaze fell back onto Damer Flinn - the first student. “You,” he said shortly. “I will need a study, or at least, a room with a desk and writing supplies. Arrange it while I test the others.” 

Dismissing Flinn from his thoughts as the man bowed his head and headed for the farmhouse, he turned to the uneasy group of would-be channelers. It took longer than he liked to test all of them but he found four more potential learners. None would be as strong as Flinn but none would be hopeless either. The failures he dismissed, ordering them to pack and be gone before sunset.

He studied the little group, watching them shift their feet and look anywhere but at him as the silence stretched out. They would learn. “Come,” he said at last, and led them towards the house.

Flinn met him at the door and pointed him to a small room off the narrow entrance hall. “It’s small, m’lord, but I’ve made sure there’s paper, ink, and pens.”

“Did the Lord Dragon leave any records, instructions, notes – anything?” Taim inquired. On receiving a negative answer, he could not say he was surprised. But he was not impressed. Settling into his new study, he spoke to each new student individually, recording their names and a handful of other details. Unsurprisingly, none gave a name of anyone to be notified in the event of his death, although two had dependants with them, a wife and son in one case and a younger sister in the other. Tucking the notes into a folder, he slipped it into a drawer and warded both folder and drawer.

Questions crowded his thoughts, both the unanswerable – anything to do with al’Thor – and the more mundane practicalities of this task al’Thor had dropped on his shoulders. Taim sat for some minutes with his gaze on the empty space between him and the closed door, sorting through the latter. With a grimace, he finally took some more paper and made more notes. Shelter, clothing, food – what resources did they have to obtain all that? To expand if – when! - more students arrived? What was their water source?

Taim saw many ways to fail at this. He would not fail.


	2. Day 4

Compared to transforming a ragged bunch of farmers, glory-dazzled boys and disillusioned soldiers into the army that had brought Davram Bashere to his knees, creating order out of the chaos of al’Thor’s would-be _saidin_ wielders was not a challenge in and of itself. Flinn, as a former guardsman, needed only the slightest nudge to take up the role of sergeant and the military experience Taim shared was enough to give them common ground. The domestic reins were taken up by Mistress Grady – not that she waited for Taim’s permission and not that he was fool enough to battle her for it.

Taim watched. The original five men had become nine, all _wanting_ to channel, all sitting with their eyes shut as they – hopefully – went through the mental exercises that would bring them to the state of mind where they would sense the true source. The memory of last time he’d been in this position tugged insistently on his thoughts: _just one man, or boy really, weeks of guidance that left Taim wondering what_ he _was doing wrong until finally, his student sensed saidin. More weeks of repetition, of fumbling and frustrations before Rhashen finally seized the power._ The memory shattered when he felt someone suddenly awash with _saidin_. Taim was at his side in a moment, a hand on the other man’s shoulder to steady him as he now reminded Grady how to _release_ the power and repeated the simple instructions until Grady managed to follow them.

It was a fraught moment. 

“Oh _Light_ ,” Grady whispered, his face pale and tinged with green. “The _taint_...” Horror and nausea warred with reverent bliss and bone-deep craving in his voice as he shuddered. 

Once touched, the power would never release it’s hold on a man’s soul. Taim had gone nearly seven months without it and he’d long since determined he would rather die. “You get used to it,” he said curtly. “Go; get your chores done and report back to me by the time I’ve finished with the rest of this class.” Before Grady had reached the door, Taim had already turned a glare back to the remaining eight. “Do you have permission to let your wits wander? Focus!”

_Three days_. Taim would have scorned anyone who said anything would happen so fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am abusing italics I think. FYI, Rhashen is an OC, Taim's first student from back before he proclaimed himself the dragon. It ended badly.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are inspiration! Also, I have no beta and while I do my best to avoid typos or other mistakes, I am only human. Please feel free to point out what I miss.


End file.
